Battlefield of the Mind
by pluhsauce
Summary: After training with Tsunade so long, Sakura had nearly forgotten about Inner Sakura. However, Inner Sakura sure didn't forget about her. Eventual MultiSaku (rating may change)
1. Chapter 1

**I should really be working on my other fics right now.**

**Oh well. **

**#noregrets**

* * *

"Sakura, I'm busy. Maybe tomorrow?" Tsunade offered, not even looking her student in the eye. For once, she was focused on her paperwork, and even though Sakura should have been proud that her mentor finally sparked the initiative to fulfill her Hokage duties, she couldn't help but feel ignored.

The pink-haired kunoichi's shoulders drooped at her dismissive tone, trying to keep the disappointment from showing on her face.

"Ah..Are you sure? Because you've said that every day for the past week, and Kurenai is on a mission so she can't help and-"

"—Just go into the scroll archives and find yourself something," the blonde frowned. "You know the seal to the room, right?"

Of course she did. She'd gone through the musty shelves of scrolls dozens of times in search for something useful, but all she had to show for it was a vast knowledge of the shinobi world's history and a strong desire for someone to spar with. But Kakashi was off on missions constantly, Shizune worked mainly for the hospital, and Naruto had left for his training with the toad sannin a few months ago and still hadn't written her one single letter.

She wanted to protest further, but felt so defeated at that point that the only thing she could do was quietly comply. Closing the door softly behind her, Sakura walked down the hallways of the Hokage tower to the lower level where the private library was kept. It was rarely guarded, and when it was, it was only to keep up appearances when visiting political figures toured the building.

As she entered, she made sure to immediately flick the light switch on, otherwise she'd be enveloped in pure darkness. It was underground, so there were no windows, and only one exit: the door. In other words, it was a shinobi's nightmare, since it was near impossible to escape should something happen. But Sakura didn't mind, since she was perfectly alone, with only old tomes and faded scrolls to keep her company. Absentmindedly, she trailed her finger across the spine of a book near her, only to wipe her dusty finger on the side of her tight black shorts.

Long ago had she abandoned the crimson dress from her genin days, and replaced it with knee-high black boots, light elbow protectors, and a red tank-top that covered her chest yet showed a bit of toned stomach whenever she lifted her arms. It was good for fighting in, but most days (where she had to turn to a book for training) she just relished how comfortable it was.

She strolled through the aisles for a few minutes, trying to find something that looked interesting (apparently no one here saw the use of labeling and sorting), when she came across a door near the back.

Curious, she twisted the knob and pushed the door forward, taking extra care since it seemed to be made of much older wood than the rest of the place. She fumbled for a light switch, but she found none, so with a sigh, she pulled out the flashlight from the pouch attached to her belt (that she usually used for checking patients' eyes in the hospital) and turned it on.

As soon as she stepped in, the first thing she noticed was that it smelled like acrid rot, and she made a mental note to inform Shizune that it needed to be cleaned. After that, she found it relatively small, being about the size of a large closet, and relatively empty, since it only held twenty-or-so scrolls laid haphazardly across the floor. With a sigh, she delicately picked up a few and placed them into the backpack she had brought with her. Even though it was _technically_ illegal to remove any scrolls without the Hokage's permission, it was a much-ignored rule, and Tsunade really didn't seem to care. Sakura did this often because she preferred to read in her own little apartment, and had always brought them back within a week.

She paused and glanced down at the pile on the ground.

The scrolls looked rather desolate and abandoned, and there _was_ enough room in her bag to take all at once…..

..oh what the hell. Why not?

* * *

She entered her apartment with the smallest of smiles on her face, due to the fact that she had twenty-or-so little surprises in her bag to open. Even though it was likely that they were all tax records or public sanitation plans, the mystery behind them was still exciting. She played this game often, and though the last few times she only found history texts, this time she had a good feeling about it.

Her apartment was simple and clean, consisting of a simple bathroom, a bedroom, and a living room that she had partially turned into a kitchen. After taking off her boots near the door, she flung herself onto her leather couch, taking her backpack with her. Gently, she removed the first scroll from its depths, and concentrated on making the proper hand-seals to open it.

It only took a minute for it to unfurl in her hands, so she read on eagerly, though the faded print was almost impossible to read without squinting.

_Potions to Attract Animals_

Well, she supposed that sounded a little intriguing.

She read on.

_After the steps taken in the first three scrolls, but begin to—_

Goddammit. There was no use reading the last scroll in a series.

So she picked up another, this one significantly lighter but made of older paper. With an exasperated sigh, she realized the seal was a lot more complex, so it took about ten minutes or so, but it eventually broke open with an odd hissing noise.

However, much to her chagrin, the page was completely blank.

She tried squinting, and that didn't work, but she was convinced it was just to faint to be seen, so she decided to focus a bit of chakra into her eyes to help her. And as soon as she did so, the words violently popped out in large, dark, swirly script, making her jump in surprise.

_Sakura Haruno, welcome to your training_

She almost dropped it in shock, but since she was half-convinced it was some sort of genjustu (and wanted to figure it out), she continued on.

_First, make sure you are alone._

She already knew she was; her chakra-sensing skills were constantly aware.

_Now prepare yourself to learn your true past, as well as the ability to meld together your inner and outer selves. _

.

.

.

.

Normally when she discovered something of interest, she immediately ran to tell Kakashi (perhaps in some subconscious hope that he'd finally offer to train her), but for some reason…..she decided that this was best kept a secret.

* * *

**Woah this is so short, but I really don't know if I'm going to continue or not. If you think it sounds promising, hit me up with a review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Oh geez, I was really surprised that the first chapter garnered so much attention! So while I was on a flight back from Lexington yesterday (I was interviewing at a college…heh), I outlined two more chapters. (I'm obsessed with outlining things)**

**So here you go! And in case you didn't know (by reading my other fics or something), I hate writing OCs, so if there are any, they are literally like: "the waiter, a young boy who was visibly nervous around the powerful shinobi, rushed their food over as soon as he could without spilling the tray." Detailed, right?**

**Yeah okay just read.**

* * *

The Tsuchikage, sitting in his office in Iwagakure while doing his usual paperwork, suddenly felt a tingle of dread shoot through his weary body. Since no one was around, this feeling left him puzzled yet morbidly curious.

"That can't be the arthritis…" he mumbled to himself, giving himself a once-over. But nothing seemed out of place, so he had no choice but to return to his work with a sigh.

"I just can't help but feel that something big has happened.."

* * *

When Sakura didn't respond to the scroll verbally, the words stopped appearing.

She waited, but nothing happened.

"Uh..hello?" she said quietly, feeling ridiculous talking to a roll of paper. "It be really rude of you to ignore me after promising that."

_Sakura, darling! It's been so long since you've acknowledged me!_

"What the fu-"

_Do you know what this is?_

Pause.

"Of course I don't. This is probably a weird prank, and somewhere in Konoha there's someone laughing at my expense," she growled.

_Ask._

"But isn't this some sort of secret scroll? I'll get in trouble for taking it!"

_Ask Iruka._

"How do you know him?" she almost yelled before catching herself. She realized this is situation looked ridiculous, and silently wondered if all secret scrolls did this.

Suddenly the entire page went blank, and she sighed in defeat, closing it up again before slipping on her shoes to leave her house.

There was only one thing to do, she supposed: find Iruka.

* * *

"Sakura, where did you find this?" the tan brunette asked, running his finger down the scroll curiously.

She had found him in his classroom at the ninja academy, but since school was out of session for the day, the only thing he was doing was scribbling down notes on the kids' tests. (God, she remembered when_ she_ used to take those) In fact, if Sakura hadn't been such a teacher's pet when she was younger, Iruka probably would have shooed her away and told her to ask someone else.

"The lib-"

"—Because I thought all of these had been thrown out. They're useless," he sighed, tossing it into the trashcan next to the door with the ease of a trained chunin. Although Sakura had (recently) passed the chunin exam, she still felt inferior to older shinobi of the same rank.

"What is it?" she asked softly, wincing as she heard it clatter into the trash.

"You know how the Yamanaka clan specializes in mind-reading jutsu?"

Nod.

"Well, because of that, they often help with interrogations and such. And a few years ago, they developed scrolls that, once absorbing a person's chakra, writes down their thoughts."

"That can't be right," Sakura commented, frowning a bit. However, Iruka misinterpreted her reaction.

"Yeah, right? The person would have to do it willingly for it to work, and since those imprisoned are not known for their cooperation, the plan failed. The only thing these are used for are for when a shinobi is too lazy to write out mission reports by hand, and uses these instead, which is why the third Hokage had us throw them out."

Sakura hesitated a second, before asking, in a small voice, "Well then, can I have it?"

"Why?" he asked skeptically. "What could you possibly use it for?"

She searched her brain for an explanation. "Um….a diary?"

"A diary?"

"Or more like a…journal. Yeah."

After a moment, he sighed, though in a tired, somewhat condescending way. "I'll never understand you girls."

If it had been any other situation, she would have scolded him for his blatant stereotyping, but for now she let it slide, since she had more important things to tend to. She rushed over to the trashcan, removed the scroll, and left quickly, leaving a hurried goodbye and a confused Iruka.

* * *

"I asked Iruka," she frowned, staring at the opened scroll on her lap as she sat on her bed at home. The day had progressed quickly, and the sky was now smeared with reds and oranges, the sunset peeking through her window and illuminating her hair, making it look almost blood red.

_So…what do you think?_

"I don't think he lied, so either he really didn't know, or.."

_Or what?_

"There's someone messing with my thoughts."

_You're getting closer. Let me give you a clue: do you remember when you were younger, how sometimes you would feel overcome with random bursts of anger?_

Oh, she remembered. In passing, she had dubbed that part of her "Inner Sakura," since she never let loose the various insults and perverted comments Inner would provide. And after their first chunin exam, Ino had come up to Sakura to talk about their battle, specifically what exactly the pink-haired girl did to push the blonde out of her mind so forcefully.

Truthfully, Sakura didn't know. And though she tried to tell Ino this, her ex-friend didn't believe her for a second. And since she couldn't explain it, Sakura just attributed that small victory as a result of a strong mind. (Who was she fooling?)

"Let me guess, this is Inner Sakura?" she laughed lightly to herself. "Okay, this joke has gone too far. Who made this all up? Because it has been one hell of a prank."

_It's about time you talked to me properly. But for convenience's sake, let's just call me "Kura" for now._

The air suddenly felt a lot colder, and the sunset had disappeared completely, leaving the room dark except for the flickering candle Sakura had on her bedside table to see properly.

_Now, time for a little history lesson._

At this point, all she could do was watch the words appear, which felt a lot more creepy that it had before, and Sakura couldn't help but feel like she was in one of those horror stories Naruto loved to tell when he was still with her.

_First off, the Haruno family _does_ have a special ability, and though it's not a jutsu, Konoha has been taking advantage of it for decades. See, the Harunos are known for their solid minds, ones that can't be influenced by outside force or permanently changed by genjutsu. So when the village had something they needed to seal within a human, they found a Haruno to use. Your parents were both Harunos, just distant cousins, so they both were used for this._

"Used for what, exactly?"

_More like "who." Do you know how the village deals with war criminals?_

Sakura thought for a second.

"Well, they have to kill them," she said simply.

_But their thoughts and memories need to be taken care of as well. Otherwise they can easily be taken over by a reanimation jutsu. So the village essentially sealed those people into Harunos, much like they do with tailed beasts, except for the fact that Harunos can neutralize the foreign soul, and keep it locked within, not disturbing a thing._

"W-war criminals?!" she gaped. "You're an actual person?!"

_Well, yes. And no._

Pause.

"But then if you were..," she reasoned, calming down slightly. "..you would be neutralized."

_That's where your lovely little mother comes into play._

_See, on a mission 16 years ago, she was raped by an enemy shinobi..and didn't tell anyone, the poor girl. She was married to your father, and didn't want to make him worry, so she kept quiet, thinking nothing of it. So when she realized she was pregnant a few weeks later, she foolishly assumed it was your fathers', and didn't tell the village elders anything but. And when the time came to seal someone inside you, she didn't protest, and certainly didn't lead on that there would be a problem._

Sakura laughed disbelievingly. "You're not saying that I a-"

_You're not a pure Haruno, so the criminal was only partially dissipated._

Her veins felt thick and heavy like ice.

"This is a horrible joke to play on me."

_Think, Sakura….what nation was Konoha at war at around that time?_

"Iwa…Iwagakure…I'm pretty sure," she responded quietly.

_So what better way to make peace than to capture one of Iwa's missingnin? It worked wonderfully; the nations very quickly resolved their fighting._

"So you're that shinobi," she finally concluded, feeling quite small and defenseless at the moment.

_Kunoichi. I am definitely a female. And to be honest, I think my good looks have been rubbing off on you! You look more like me everyday, except that I had black hair and black eyes,_

"So what happens now?"

_Don't act so scared! There's no way I can get out of here, so it's not like you're in danger or anything._

_Well, _I'm_ not dangerous, at least._

_Tell Tsunade that you want to take a vacation to the land of Lightning. I need to show you something there._

"Wha-?"

_Just do it._

* * *

"I want to take a vacation," Sakura declared, looking more brave than she felt. After all, Tsunade didn't seem to be in a good mood, but "Kura" had pressured her, so the girl felt obligated to ask immediately.

"It's the middle of the night, Sakura!" Tsunade growled. "Where is so important that you needed to interrupt me?"

"Uh..the Land of Lightning."

"Why?"

"Um..I heard the food is really good, and I want to explore the area to widen my knowledge of local customs…?"

The busty woman exhaled slowly before taking another swig of the cup in front of her. It seemed to relax her quite a bit, so her irritated expression fell completely, replaced with a bored haze. "I guess I _do_ have a package to send to the Raikage," she mused lazily. "I was just going to send a genin squad to do it, but I guess you'll be more efficient."

"Anything I can do to help!" Sakura laughed nervously, crossing her arms and trying to look confident.

"Hmmm…of course," Tsunade mumbled. "Oh, has Naruto sent you anything yet?"

Sakura winced.

"No."

"Really? Are you sure? Not even a letter?" she continued, obviously confused.

"I'm sure, sensei," Sakura finished sadly, the usual twinges of loneliness making their way into her mood once more.

"Weird….But okay, you are dismissed," the blonde said, pulling out a small box from her desk drawer and handing it to her student. "Leave as soon as you can for the Raikage. Shouldn't be difficult, but do you want someone to come with?"

"No," Sakura said, a little more forcefully than she should have, But since the Hokage had no reason to be suspicious of Sakura, she didn't say anything, and let the girl stroll out of the office without a word.

"Sometimes I wonder what's going through that girl's head….."

* * *

Traveling at high speed, the journey would take only two days, so Sakura packed light, bringing only one backpack stuffed with her scroll, the package Tsunade had given her, a change of clothes, a few solider pills, and a few kunais (besides the weapons she kept on her holster).

On her way out, she happened to pass by Neji Hyuuga, who was talking quietly to the guardsmen at their post. Once they heard her light footsteps approach, all three snapped their heads to face her (though Neji admittedly did it a lot more gracefully).

"Neji, Kotetsu, Izumo...Good afternoon," she smiled wearily.

She always had to smile. If she didn't, people assumed she was thinking about Sasuke.

They wouldn't say it to her face, of course, but she heard the whispers of gossip on the streets, of how she was suicidal, abandoned, and..(now that her parents were gone) simply _alone_.

Kotetsu and Izumo greeted her with their usual hopeful grins, always eager for a chance to cheer the pretty konoichi up.

"You look stunning as usual, Sakura!" Kotetsu called over. "Even though it _is_ the middle of the night! Where are you go-"

Izumo elbowed his spiky-haired friend roughly. "Kotetsu! You're never supposed to ask unless they volunteer the information first!"

"But Sakura's an exception. She never gets sent on the confidential missions…" he said in rebuttal, not seeing how her face fell at his casual statement. However, Neji seemed to pick up on her reaction, for he lightly guided her out of the pair's range of hearing to talk to her.

"Are you sure you want to go alone?" he asked in his usual almost-monotone voice. And even though Tsunade had asked that same question and sounded condescending, Sakura knew that Neji was more worried for her emotional state. He was one of the closer friends she had since the rest of her team left, since she had taken up to training with Gai's team whenever she wanted a sparring partner.

(He always won, but there had been a few times where she caught him in an unexpected genjutsu or he stepped onto one of her traps)

"Yeah, I'm sure," she affirmed, avoiding eye contact (even though she knew Neji could always see the emotions she hid under her smiles).

He hesitated, but since she clearly wasn't going to volunteer any more information, left it at that. "When are you returning?"

"Why? Can't wait to see me?" she couldn't help but tease.

"Well, Lee _would_ be very disappointed if you left him with me," he responded delicately, the closest to witty banter that a Hyuuga could get.

"Well once you put it _that_ way…hmm…anywhere from five days to a week," she told him before pulling her backpack straps tighter and moving towards the gate.

"You'll do fine," he said to her retreating figure, though he wasn't sure if she could hear over the combined goodbyes of Kotetsu and Izumo at the moment.

Once she was gone, Kotetsu threw Neji a sly smirk.

"So, you never did tell us….can the Byakugan see through clothes?"

"I'm leaving."

* * *

**Ouch. I'm not too thrilled at how this chapter turned out, so I'll probably edit it later, but I'm going to post it anyways, since I promised myself I would put something up today. (;**

**Now I need to finish my AP Lit paper okay bye**


	3. Chapter 3

**Happy Wednesday morning, bitches.**

**side note: what currency do they use in the Naruniverse? **

**And by the way from now on: KURA = INNER SAKURA. It's just easier to write that way. (;**

* * *

After traveling for two days straight with only a few hours of rest, Sakura arrived hungry, tired, and in terrible need of a shower.

Needless to say, the first thing she did was check into a hotel.

The owner was obviously not used to seeing dirtied-up shinobi strolling through his lobby, so when she tracked in 48 hour's worth of mud and dirt, all he could do was force a smile and hand her the key to one of the nicer rooms. (Sakura tended to always buy the best rooms, since she didn't have very many things she could use her money for)

Once she unpacked her things onto the bed, she immediately went into the bathroom, turning on the shower and waiting for the water to heat up. She stripped slowly as to not damage the fabric further, and as more of her skin was revealed, she healed the minor cuts and scrapes so not a mark was left. Being a medical ninja (and able to heal herself completely(, she was one of the very few shinobi in the village that had the luxury of having skin free of scars and blemishes. Sure, it may be a little vain, but if she had the ability, why _wouldn't_ she?

By the time she was completely naked and healed, she deemed the water hot enough (judging by the steam filling the small room) and stepped in, a blissful sigh escaping her lips as she was surrounded by the soothing warmth of the water. Passively, she wondered if Kura shared same physical sensations.

As she uncapped the shampoo bottle the hotel provided and massaged it into her wet locks, her mind wandered back to what Kura had said about her parents. The proof was certainly there, though a bit open to interpretation. She had always wondered how her hair could be pink, since her mom had bright yellow hair and her dad was auburn. Also, neither of them shared the same wide green eyes that she had grown into.

She let the suds rinse down her naked body, toned and lean from all the taijutsu training she put herself through. It really bothered her that she had no kekkai genkai skill to fall back on, and certainly not a curse mark of any sort. She had to work four times as hard, and still no one acknowledged that.

That's why she enjoyed working with Gai's team, since TenTen and Lee had the same problem. (and it sure as hell didn't stop them from becoming kiss-ass ninjas) Not to mention that Neji was surprisingly open to listening to her complain and rant, even offering her suggestions on what to do. With Ino still avoiding her, it was nice to have someone to talk to, and the Hyuuga's company was rather calming.

And speaking of calming, Sakura decided she had been in the shower for long enough. She got out and wrapped a towel around herself, letting the stray water droplets trail down her body and hit the floor. Once out of the bathroom, she went straight to the scroll, since she figured it was about time Kura told her what the hell was so damn important about the Land of Lightning.

_Yeah, yeah…I know. I already have a plan for you._

"Plan?" Sakura whispered harshly, hoping her voice didn't carry through the thin walls of the hotel room. "What do we need a _plan_ for?"

_First thing's first: you need to deliver that stupid gift to the Raikage…and make sure to act like a perfect little konoichi princess. You need to be innocent and pretty so that they wouldn't suspect you of anything._

"What the hell would they suspect me for?"

_Well, let's just say we have a date with "Island Turtle."_

"…I'm sorry….did you just say Island Turtle? What the hell is that?"

_Oh yeah, I forgot. It's kinda-sorta a secret place that is not open to the public, but that shouldn't be a problem if you follow my advice._

"Okay, whatever," Sakura sighed, running a hand through her damp hair. "Show me what you got."

* * *

The Raikage was a lot more intimidating than Sakura had imagined, which made it all the more harder to execute all the steps Kura showed her without a guilty conscious. He was tall and thickly muscled, his face seemingly set into a permanent frown. She noticed that his desk was considerably larger than usual furniture, making her believe he had to get it custom-made for his size. She was also painfully aware of the jonin standing to the right and staring her down, his dark skin contrasted by thick white hair.

(Did _all_ the powerful shinobi in the village have dark skin and platinum hair?)

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Raikage," Sakura chirped, bowing respectively and avoiding eye contact. "I hope that our Hokage's gift to you is to your liking."

She was pleased to note that his expression softened a bit, probably due to the fact she merely looked like a little pink flower dressed up in ninja clothes.

Yes, she was painfully aware of how others judged her skills based on her appearance. However, in this situation, it actually played to her favor.

"Darui, take the package from the woman," he growled to his bodyguard, who, to his credit, did not show one bit of irritation at being ordered so harshly. "Don't make her just stand there."

Darui, though definitely a top-ranked shinobi, walked over reluctantly in a sluggish manner that somewhat reminded her of Shikamaru. He took the package from her hand gently before walking it over to the Raikage and laying on the desk. The man looked at it carefully before turning his eyes back to Sakura.

"Do you know what it is?" he asked, his gruff voice making everything he said sound like a threat.

"No, I was not instructed to open it myself," Sakura ensured, standing straight and confidently. The Raikage smiled a bit at her response. (and _holy shit_ it was weird to see)owveHow

"Excellent. Good to know that some leaf ninja can be trusted," he commented.

She frowned a bit, almost breaking her façade. Such blatant disrespect for her village was not exactly comforting.

Without his smile fading, he opened the box, only for his lips to tug father upward. He looked back at her.

"Hmm…be sure to thank your Hokage for this. Who knows, we may just have an alliance on our hands."

Sakura inwardly sighed with relief before an unexpected chill ran down her spine. "If I may be so bold, Raikage, I request to leave your presence now; I haven't rested from the two-day journey yet."

"Do you want me to send a medic-nin?" he asked thoughtfully.

"No, I'm fine, but thank you," she said quickly, ignoring the fact that even though she was Tsunade's apprentice, apparently she was unknown outside of the village.

"Okay, then you are dismissed."

After bowing once more in respect, she fast-walked out of the office, lips set into a firm frown. That chill she felt meant that the shadow clone she sent to the docks met her target.

* * *

"Are you a ninja?" the pink-haired girl cooed, looking at the man with a impish smile. "I never met a Lightning ninja before."

She was dressed in civilian clothes that she bought the night before: strappy heels, a tight grey dress, and (begrudgingly) a push-up bra that she would have no use for after this.

"Yeah, the name's Omoi," he grinned back, rubbing the back of his head. "I'm surprised you haven't heard of me…I'm a pretty big deal around here."

"ooh, so you must be an..um…what's the highest rank again?" she said confusedly, biting her lip in concentration, noticing the way he stared at her with interest. _Perfect._

"Jonin," he said with a bragging tone. "And I am so totally a Jonin."

"Oh! So why are you standing here?" she asked cutely. "Are you guarding something?"

"That's confidential," he answered, puffing out his chest in pride. "I'm entrusted to keep it safe."

"It?"

"Ah, shit…ignore what I said," he stammered. "Don't tell anyone about it, okay?"

"I wouldn't dream of it," she cooed. "After all, I couldn't care less about the thing guarded, I want to hear more about you!"

"Why?"

"Well," she said in a hushed tone. "I've never seen a man as handsome and powerful as you.."

* * *

The real Sakura slipped by the guard and her clone with ease, her chakra hidden perfectly and a jutsu over her skin to make her nearly invisible.

_And he calls himself a Jonin…_she sighed inwardly, before focusing chakra on her feet to lightly run across the water to a dark blob on the horizon. It only took her a minute or two, and as a pleasant surprise, the actual island was completely unguarded.

(It kind of freaked her out that she was going on a giant turtle in the ocean, but she pushed down her fears and leaped onto it, removing her jutsu)

She walked in the direction Kura had instructed her the night before, heading towards the very center of the heavily forested area. Thankfully, she did not run into any of the wildlife she was warned about, so she quickly heard the sound of rapidly flowing water.

She came into the clearing, spotting the waterfall instantly and letting out a deep breath. It looked harmless enough, but she always had her doubts.

And now, she finished the last step of the plan by sitting on a rock directly facing the falls. _What the hell could possibly be so interesting about a…_

Her thoughts stopped when she saw a shadow materializing from within the falling water. It solidified slowly, and she couldn't help but unsheathe a kunai from the holster on her thigh, even though she trusted Kura….generally.

But all of her thinking halted immediately when she was faced with a figure…..one that looked extremely familiar.

In fact, it looked exactly like her, except that the hair and eyes were pure onyx, darker than the night sky and almost hypnotizing. The clothing was the same as well, but only made of all-black fabric.

_It's about time we can meet each other for real…_the female smirked, causing Sakura to breathe in a sharp intake of breath. This must be…

_Welcome to the Waterfall of Truth, Sakura sweetie. This…is what is locked inside you._

* * *

**Haha typed this before school. Bye now.**


	4. Chapter 4

**I started writing this as the song "Nobdy Needs to Know" from ****_The Last 5 Years _****came on my iTunes shuffle while means I was definitely crying a bit.**

**(That musical makes me sob every time. I can't help it.)**

* * *

"H-holy shit!" Sakura half-screamed, looking at the figure in front of her with wide eyes and her mouth open. "Are y-you—"

"Yeah. I'm 'Kura'," the woman said smugly. "Look just like you, huh? Though it's really the other way around. Like I said, you grew up to look just like me."

"This is so strange..," Sakura grumbled, mostly to herself, but soon composed herself. "What do you need to show me here?"

"Well first off, I thought you needed to see that I was real," Kura explained sharply, before giving her a sympathetic look. "But I also wanted to tell you something face-to-face."

Sakura gulped. The way she was looking at her, it couldn't possibly be a good thing.

"Tell me," she whispered, pretending she wasn't nervous.

"It's about your parents," Kura frowned, instructing Sakura to sit down on the rock with her, even though she didn't seem to be able to touch her. "You know I said that they had criminals of their own inside them?"

Sakura nodded.

"Both of the criminals were heavily involved with Orochimaru when he had first turned against the village, and were subsequently taken care of. So when he went into hiding, Konoha assumed the threat was gone and left it alone."

"But Orochimaru attacked the village during my first Chunin exam," Sakura interjected. Her parents were gone soon after that. They had been gone on a short mission together, and had been killed. (or at least that's what she had been told) She still remembered the moment.

_Sakura had been Taijutsu training all morning, so when Kakashi arrived at her house around dinnertime, her muscles were knotted and sore, and she had just begun the slow process of dispersing the lactic acid build-up with a medical justu she had recently learned from Tsunade._

_"The Hokage wants to see you," he said slowly, his voice more monotone that usual. She invited him in for tea, but he refused, telling her it was urgent. So with a reluctant sigh, she walked to the Hokage tower, not even bothering to run in her exhausted state._

_Once she arrived, Shizune led her in immediately, not even bothering with the usual sign-in visitors had to complete._

_"You needed me, Tsunade-sensei?" Sakura asked carefully, walking up to the desk as she heard Shizune close the door gently on her way out._

_"Sakura, you are aware of the sacrifices we all make once we become shiobi, correct?" her blonde-haired mentor asked slowly, closing her eyes and sighing heavily. Sakura quickly grew suspicious, but she knew not to doubt her superiors._

_"We acknowledge that we put our lives on the line to protect and serve our village and the citizens within it without question or hesitation," she recited carefully, straightening her posture and trying to look professional in front of her mentor._

_"And we know that our death will most likely be in the line of duty, yes?"_

_"Yes," Sakura affirmed. "Tsunade-sensei, I apologize for being blunt, but what is this really about, because certainly you didn't make me rush over here just to-"_

_"Your parents are dead, Sakura."_

_Her eyes went wide and all thought process seemed to have stopped._

_"The details are classified, but I can assure you that they died helping ensure the village's safety. You can be proud of their dedication and take pride that they cared enough about you to leave as perfect examples of the shinobi way."_

_"….."_

_"If you require counseling, the hospital has a number of psychiatric professionals that can help you, and there are many of your peers you can go to."_

_"That will not be necessary," Sakura mumbled quietly. "But if you don't mind, I'd like to go home now."_

_Tsuande smiled sadly. "You don't have to put up a strong front, Sakura. You're allowed to be upset."_

_"Y-yeah. Upset," Sakura gulped as she fled for the exit, in a hurry to leave before the tears completely obscured her vision._

"Sakura, understand that what I'm about to say will change your perspective of your village forever, and promise me that you will not blame yourself," Kura said gently.

"I'm ready," Sakura assured, feigning confidence.

"After Konoha was attacked, they questioned whether Orochimaru could overcome the sealing jutsu on your parents' minds and didn't want to take any risks, so your parents were killed in order to 'ensure the village's safety.'"

Sakura's face contorted with shock before she quickly recovered. "But how would you know that? Because you're in my mind, and I sure as hell didn't know that. If this is some sort of trick…."

"When you are asleep I am still conscious inside your mind. You were on a mission, and Kakashi was telling Neji while you were sleeping."

"How many others knew this?!" Sakura suddenly burst out, tears prickling her eyes. Now, the waterfall on front of her, instead of being soothing, felt suffocating.

"I don't know, sweetie. But Kakashi only told him because he saw how close you and Neji were becoming. He cared for you but didn't know how to show it."

Sakura choked back a sob. "No, he's always been leaving me alone."

"He said it was a horrible decision that Tsunade was forced into. The few that were involved felt horrible about it."

"Yeah, that sure makes me feel better about that," she laughed sardonically while the tears trickled down her cheeks.

"Ssh, sweetie. Eventually you'll come to terms with the pain," Kura whispered soothingly while simultaneously knowing that Sakura was just short of inconsolable. "But I am here to help you."

"How can you possibly help? You're just in my head!"

"Do you want to be helped or not? Just trust me."

Sakura nodded hesitantly. "O-okay."

"Now come here, I need you to turn around so your neck is facing me."

"What, are you going to kill me? That'd be a great way to die, after just finding out that everything you knew was a lie," Sakura bit out sarcastically. Kura sighed.

"Come on, you're stronger than this. I'll just make you realize that."

Once Sakura turned around, Kura muttered something along the lines of 'this will hurt' before she felt a burning sensation on the top of her neck at the base of her skull. It was simultaneously freezing cold and scorching hot, and trailed down slightly before dissipating completely. However, inside of crying with pain, she held in her whimper, trying to appear at least a little strong.

There was a silence.

"So what exactly did you do?" Sakura asked, turning around to face…..absolutely nothing.

"K-Kura?" she asked frantically, but no one answered. Apparently, her inner self thought it would be smart to leave her completely alone at her most vulnerable moment.

"Just great," she grumbled to herself, figuring that this was a great time to head home.

* * *

Her departure from the land of lightening was mostly uneventful, as she packed up her things quickly as left her hotel without a goodbye to the owner sitting at the front desk. Even though she was hungry and tired, she pushed on, knowing she had to say goodbye to the Kage before leaving.

Thankfully, she ran into him next to the gates, walking next to a man who looked almost exactly like him, save for a pair of dark sunglasses on his tan face.

"Goodbye, leaf ninja," the Kage said with a slight smile, giving her a nod of acknowledgement. "Safe travels."

"Thank you, sir," she called out before finally exiting through the gates.

"Hmm, she was fairly good for a Konoha shinobi," the Kage remarked. "Nice girl. It's a shame she only looks like a little flower with her pale skin and pink hair."

"Yo, what are ya talking about…pink hair?" his brother asked with a confused frown. "She _definitely_ had black hair."

"I don't have time for you games, Bee," the Kage sighed, choosing to leave him behind.

"I wan't joking, man…" Bee grumbled to himself, his tailed beast agreeing inside of his head.

Several months had passed since Sakura went to the waterfall of truth, and she couldn't see how Kura had helped her in any way, besides making her question her village constantly. She went back to her pattern of training with Team Gai and taking shifts at the hospital, while constantly begging for Tsunade to teach her more. (Her requests were usually turned down)

But all her personal hard work had paid off, for she was about to be considered for the preliminaries of the Jonin exam, something she had wanted for quite a long time. A little over a year had passed since Naruto had left, and Sakura wanted to make damn sure that her skills as a ninja had significantly improved by the time he came back.

Since Neji was recently appointed a jonin, he was helping her prepare nearly every day, working her mainly with Taijutsu, no super-strength or medical jutsu allowed. But today was different.

"Today we're going to try something more challenging," he announced to her. "I trust you are ready?"

"For what?" she asked cautiously, staring into his pure white eyes to see if his expression could give anything away.

"For this," he said, before crouching into a signature Hyuuga family 64-palms attack and lunging for her. She quickly leaped away just in time to avoid his attack, but soon felt another presence behind her. She punched through the shadow clone after quickly turning around, then back-flipped to face the real Neji.

"You ass," she growled. "I thought we weren't _going_ to use chakra."

"You can't expect your opponent to always play fair," he smirked amusedly before she suddenly was aware of a pressure on her neck.

"You bastar—" And then her vision faded.

She opened her eyes, only to see her world be transformed into black and white. She knew for a fact that she wasn't dead or unconscious, however, she couldn't feel any sort of physical sensation.

"What the hell?" she grumbled, looking around. Her perspective shifted, and then she saw Neji being punched and beaten senseless, his cry seeming to echo softly through the air. Another voice joined in.

_I thought you wanted to play, pretty boy? _

Sakura gulped. That voice was familiar….in fact, it was the exact voice that had belonged to her Inner Self. But she couldn't possibly switch control, unless….

Wait—that burning on her neck—perhaps she did something?

Her mind raced, trying to find an explanation as she watched Neji fly around, helpless in her situation.

This had to be the result of the gentle fist, and that worked by concentrating chakra in a short burst into your opponent to disable and block their chakra pathway in a certain spot. Maybe Kura had placed a seal on the back of her neck? That would explain how Neji's attack had triggered—

Her world suddenly burst into color, and she could move and feel just as normal. She was back in control? It didn't make any sense, and maybe it had been a dream, but….

…there was Neji, lying on the ground unconscious.

She gasped, covering her mouth before looking around to see if anyone had seen them. No one else seemed to be around, but she doubted Neji would forget whatever the hell happened. Logically, she knew she should have stayed and asked him for his perspective, but in the heat of the moment, all she did was sprint to her apartment frantically, her heart and mind racing.

* * *

"I'm worried about Sakura," Neji said loudly, looking Tsunade in the eye without flinching.

"What design did you say was on her neck, exactly?" she asked calmly, though her shocked expression gave her true reaction away.

"It wasn't a particular design, just a flame-like swirl. I thought she had gotten a tattoo or something, and didn't think anything of it in the moment. I certainly didn't think twice about focusing my chakra next to it. The next thing I knew, her hair and eyes had changed color, and her voice was completely different. She was almost like another person. At first I thought it was some sort of jutsu, but it didn't seem like the real her was in control."

"Shit..," Tsunade growled, looking down. "This isn't good."

She straightened up at her desk, staring him down with a stern look.

"Bring me the head of the Yamanaka clan," she commanded. "And that's an order."

"Oh, and Neji?" she added as he was about to leave.

"Yes?"

"Not a word to anyone else, especially Sakura."

He frowned.

"Yes, Hokage."

* * *

**Yeah hopefully I have more for ya tomorrow. But I'm leaving for work now. Time to serve some people food~!**


	5. Chapter 5

**So I wrote this a few months ago, but I guess I forgot to post it? Oh well, here ya go! (:**

* * *

_Thud._

_Thud._

A sleepy groan left the pink-haired girl's lips, trying her best to open her heavy eyelids but lacking the motivation.

After a few seconds, she slowly rose up, feeling the bedsheets pool around her frame as she stretched her arms above her in attempts of rejuvenating her extremities. The knocking still hadn't ceased, but it had slowed down, leading her to believe that it wasn't urgent enough to warrant her sprinting to her apartment door.

_Thud._

Huh, she didn't remember going to bed last night.

_Thud._

Why was she still in her clothes from yesterday?

_Thud._

As she remembered yesterday's events—training, Neji, the consuming darkness—her usually rosy complexion paled to that of someone who had just realized the potential trouble they could be in.

_Thud._

Apprehensively, she walked over to the doors, biting her lip to ease some of the overwhelming nerves that had begun to flutter around in her stomach. She opened the door carefully only to find her favorite (well…only) gray-haired sensei—Kakashi.

His expression was blank, and the usual warmth from his exposed black eye seemed cold and accusing. She could feel herself start to wilt with an overwhelming feeling of guilt.

"H-Hello," she muttered out sheepishly. "How are you this morning?"

"Sakura, why didn't you tell me?" he asked slowly, taking a step forward and making her shrink back into her apartment.

"Tell you wh-what?" she gulped.

"You know what I'm talking about," she growled before nearly backing her into her couch, every single one of her shinobi instincts failing her at the moment. She was thankful that he wasn't a medic-ninja, because otherwise he could immediately tell how her heartbeat had just intensified to dangerous levels.

"I do?"she said, her voice a quiet squeak.

Suddenly his face changed to look more like an injured puppy than a potential executioner. "You didn't tell me you were up for jonin recommendation!"

She let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding, and her tensed shoulders sank down.

"It's not like I'm actually going to get to take the test," she explained carefully. "I'm just being considered. It's like a _pre-pre-_test."

"Still, you didn't think your old sensei deserved to know?" he teased. "I'm still wise enough to help you with your training."

_Yeah, right. If you had the time. Or cared enough to do more than talk about it._

"I think I'm fine with Lady Tsunade and Neji's help," she replied sharply, not understanding how that little comment caused the worried wrinkle on Kakashi's forehead to deepen.

"I'm taking you out for ramen," he announced, before tugging on her hand.

"Wait! I need to get dressed! I need to—"

"Sakura, is something wrong?" he asked quizzically. "You're _already_ dressed."

"…."

"Unless you were going to change into something to impress me..?" he grinned, though his joking smirk was kept mostly hidden by his mask.

"Nah, we can go now," she sighed as she exited her apartment to begrudgingly head to Naruto's favorite restaurant. Even though the smell of ramen had depressed her recently, it couldn't hurt to revisit a few old memories.

* * *

After visiting with Tsunade, Neji was feeling anything but assured.

He had gone to the Hokage purely out of concern (whether for Sakura or himself, he tried not to dwell on), but left only feeling worse. For some reason, he just couldn't shake the feeling that what he did was…wrong.

In the past months, Sakura had grown surprisingly close to him and the rest of his team, and he gradually came to respect the little pink-haired kunoichi. She was extremely close to TenTen, and Lee had even begun to act normally (and not go around constantly spouting love confessions). She had many people's respect, and even though she was one of the most trustworthy people in the village, he had gone and spilled a secret that she possibly didn't even know about.

He felt guilty, so he finally swallowed up his pride and set out to find the girl himself.

As he was passing by the most famous (only) ramen store in Konoha, he happened to catch a glimpse of pink and red. Stopping immediately, he walked over to see that Sakura was sitting at the bar with her ex-sensei, a steaming bowl in front of her.

She looked a tad worried, and was keeping her eyes trained to the food in front of her instead of the Jonin next to her.

"Sakura," he called out loudly, suprising the two. Their hands snapped over to see the owner of the voice, and gave him two identical looks of surprise. "I wanted to congratulate you."

"On her qualifying for the Jonin Exams?" Kakashi asked, looking at the boy warily.

"No," Neji said quickly, trying to be as nonsuspicious as possible. He needed Kakashi to trust him, because he desperately needed to fix the situation he had caused. "On the _excellent _genjutsu she performed on me recently. She had me completely convinced that she had transformed into this dark creature. She has a great talent for genjutsu."

Kakashi nodded slowly, looking Neji over for any indication of a lie. (He didn't seem to find one)

"She does," the man admitted, not seeing the confused look on the pink-haired girl's face.

_Trust me, Sakura. I'm trying to keep you safe. I don't know what the Hokage has planned for you, but I know that if you were in a truly dangerous situation, you'd turn yourself in._

After a few seconds, a look of realization appeared on her face, and she nodded vigorously.

"Yes, that genjutsu took a while for me to conceptualize. You were the first person I've ever tried it on," she smiled, trying to appear happy and proud. (And technically, that last part was most definitely true)

With a sigh, Kakashi glanced towards his empty bowl.

"It was nice reconnecting with you, Sakura, but I have some matters to attend to," he said finally, glancing outside. He laid the money on the counter for their meal, and gave her a reluctant smile. "Make sure to keep working on your genjutsu!"

And with that, he ran off…though Neji could tell with his Byakugan that he was headed towards the Hokage tower in a full-out sprint.

"Are you okay, Sakura?" Neji asked as soon as Kakashi was out of earshot, taking in her worried look.

"…yeah," she replied slowly. "I think I just need some time to sleep and reconnect. I've been really stressed recently."

"Do you want me to take you home?" he frowned.

"No, it's fine. Walking by myself will be relaxing," she smiled, and he could instantly tell it was fake.

"If you say so, Sakura," he finalized, watching her get up to leave. "Just make sure to take care of yourself."

Another fake smile.

"I'll try."

* * *

**(It's been forever…sorry)**


End file.
